Zak Penn to rewrite The Karate Kid sequel

Variety is reporting that Incredible Hulk and X-Men: Last Stand scribe Zak Penn, has been hired to rewrite the sequel to Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan’s Karate Kid reboot. Just like the original, the 2010 film was a surprise hit with audiences, as most initially regarded it as just the next in a long line of cheap cash-in, mediocre remakes. But the film ended up having a charming feel-good nature which resonated with viewers and it eventually went on to gross $359 million worldwide.

As soon as Sony realized that they had a winner on their hands (read: somebody showed dem da money!), they hired Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to drum up a sequel. But now that script is being reworked.

Thus far, no information has been given as to what prompted Sony to get Penn for a rewrite. We also have no hints of any plot details, but it is assumed that Smith and Chan will be reprising their roles. Penn is primarily known for his more action-centric work, so this is a bit of a weird fit, as the Karate Kid has always been more of a coming of age tale, despite the prevalence of martial arts.

In the original Karate Kid II, Daniel-san travelled with Mr Miyagi to Okinawa, Japan to visit his dying father and settle an old feud. Along the way Daniel not only learns about love, but also about the feared “Miyagi drum punch”, a martial arts technique that on first glance appears to been created for T-Rexes and not humans. Lets hope that Penn leaves that part out of the new film.

A man of many passions - but very little sleep - I've been geeking out over movies, video games, comics, books, anime, TV series and lemon meringues as far back as I can remember. So show up for the geeky insight, stay for the delicious pastries.

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